Once…Never…and again…

About the work

"It’s a work about the dancers surrendering to a state of serious playfulness. The rules of play sustain, fragment and repurpose the structure of the piece. Choreographed dance sequences, and very specifically tuned improvisational tasks have been designed to overwhelm the performers’ senses into a state of authenticity, no judgement, essential action, and… groove.

From within that groove, much like jazz musicians, the performers compose. Beginnings feel like endings and repetition alters rather than confirms. What was there before is now something else.
In this work, to search for meaning is a distraction from the appearance of being.”

– Jermaine Spivey

Credits

Choreography: Jermaine Spivey
Music: New composition by Samuel van der Veer
Lighting design: Yuka Hisamatsu
Costume design: Yolanda Klompstra

NDT rehearsal directors: Ander Zabala
Duration: 20 minutes
Premiere date: Sept. 25, 2025
Premiere location: Amare, The Hague

Original cast

Maša Anic, Esmee Boevink, Justin Padilla, César Sautés-Vescovali

Rehearsal | Once…Never…and again… - Jermaine Spivey

Once Never and again ©Rahi Rezvani 2025_online_7

Maša Anić on 'Once…Never…and again…'

“Working with Jermaine has been the most transformative artistic experience of my life. It was an unfolding, an invitation to go further, to truly look, to hear with my eyes, to see with my ears, to trust, to explore… to PLAY. This awareness turned the studio into a living landscape of possibilities, where growth and discovery were constant companions.

Every rehearsal felt like a dialogue, a space where curiosity was welcomed, and exploration became the foundation of this creation. His genius lies not only in how he creates movement, but in how he awakens something deeper within the people he works with. For him, the most important part is not only the piece itself, but the journey we take together in building it. Each day he guided us into unfamiliar territory with care and vision, creating a process that was challenging, layered, deeply human and personal.

This work, rooted in improvisation, carries risk and unpredictability. No performance is ever the same; each becomes special and alive in the moment, shaped by our skills, choices, connection and the space we share—all through Jermaine’s direction. That is why being in this process is such an exciting feeling.

I feel blessed to be part of this piece, with an amazing team of talented people. Most of all, I’m grateful for the audacious artistry and generosity Jermaine brought into every lesson, into every moment. I can’t wait to keep playing, growing and evolving within the world we created. Thank you Jermaine <3“

Nathan Allen on 'Once…Never…and again…'

“The existing happenings are easily forgotten—shapes on the wall, the tightness of my laces, the moisture of the air—yet in collaboration they create and frame each moment. They create the sauce. Life, like sauce, can be overwhelming, the flavor profile, a feat to decipher. The acidity, hard to distinguish. We learn to taste, as flavor fleets. There, in the fleeting we find our playground, letting uncertainty inform our falling bodies. Individuals emerge from the sauce daring into full being focus, here individuality lies; Inside of risk, glimpses of truth are observed. Never certain, we brave on with a recipe in our minds and some tools in our belt, we tinker and dance our way through, around, out of, and into.

Choices are made inside necessary ingredients. Playing happens within the rules. Jermaine introduced the game and taught us the rules, now we play!”